


Paper Clip

by scullywolf



Series: TXF: Scenes in Between [51]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 14:47:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4791308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scullywolf/pseuds/scullywolf





	Paper Clip

_“There’s a small army outside. I think they’ve got us trapped.”  
“I think there’s a way out, down here.”_

And there they were. Running through the night. Again.

“Shut off your flashlight,” Mulder said as they approached the building’s edge, and Scully stumbled as she tried to adjust to the sudden darkness. Not that the small spots of light made that much of a difference, but even so, they gave a frame of reference for where the ground was; without them, even slight variations in terrain were harder to navigate. She was grateful to be in sensible shoes for once.

They headed for the woods, trying initially to put as much distance between themselves and the armed hit squad as possible. They could worry about where they were actually going once they were past the immediate danger of being gunned down. Scully tried to resist looking over her shoulder every few steps; it would be counterproductive if she ended up tripping over something and losing what little lead they had. She heard Mulder give a strangled cry as a tree branch raked across his chest and shoulder.

“You okay?” she huffed, drawing alongside him as he slowed.

“Fine.” His breath was coming heavily, much harder than it normally would have been under such conditions, but he was still weaker than normal from his ordeal in the desert. “Gotta keep moving.”

A spiderweb caught her square in the face, and she swatted it away with a startled grunt, pressing on. She tried to listen for any evidence that they were being pursued, but it was hard to hear anything over her and Mulder’s own footsteps, over their breath. They tripped and stumbled less as their eyes adjusted to the darkness, but it seemed impossible they couldn’t be tracked by their crashing footfalls alone.

Eventually, she was unable to bear not knowing. She put a hand out and touched Mulder’s arm, then held up her other hand, the one still holding the flashlight, and slowed to a halt. Mulder grabbed her arm and tugged her behind the trunk of a large tree.

“They may have snipers,” he murmured. “We shouldn’t stop.”

“They don’t have a clear line of sight through these woods,” she argued. “I just want to listen for a second.”

She strained to hear, the near-total silence around them a sharp contrast to the rustle of brush from moments earlier. Far behind them, she could just make out the shouts of the men back at the mining company. Mulder was tense beside her.

“We need to keep moving.”

“We were making too much noise,” she whispered.

She didn’t need to see him to know he was clenching his jaw, making the muscle bulge. She didn’t blame him; it felt wrong to slow down, but without a vehicle, it was reckless to continue crashing ahead blindly. Anyone would be able to follow them easily, just by listening. If they were going to keep moving, they would have to do it quietly.

“Come on.”

By divine intervention or dumb luck, they soon came upon a deer trail, a narrow path worn through the brush by animals moving between feeding grounds. They were able to walk more quickly, the sound of their steps muted on the path. Mulder broke into a jog, and Scully followed, cautiously. The trail wound around the trees, and she had to focus in order to stay on it. For a long while, her awareness narrowed to the placement of her feet and the quietly ragged sound of Mulder’s breathing. They didn’t have the luxury of time for her to worry about him, but she listened anyway.

Abruptly, Mulder stopped; Scully only just managed to keep herself from running into him. “What is it?” she whispered.

“Trail’s stopped. And I think I can see the highway up ahead.”

“The same one we came in on?”

“I’m not sure, but it seems like it would have to be. There’s not a lot else out here.”

Scully frowned, trying to remember. “There was a town not far back, wasn’t there? That’s probably our best bet.”

“Less likely to be murdered in a public place, yeah.”

They were both quiet again for a few moments, listening. The forest around them was still and mostly silent, but for the usual complement of nighttime insects. Mulder turned to face her.

“We should be able to follow the road from the woods. The more we can stay out of sight, the better.”

She frowned. “You think they’ll still come after us?”

“I don’t think these guys are the type to leave a job undone if they can help it. They won’t shoot us if there are too many other people around, but if they find us along the side of the road, I feel less good about our chances of getting home alive.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Okay. Well, let’s keep moving, then.”


End file.
